Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II27 August 1966
8 September to 14 November 1966
4 and 10 to 17 December 1966
8 to 16 January 1967

Vietnam Summer-Fall 196918 to 29 June 1969
7 July to 13 August 1969
11 to 13 and 18 to 20-September 1969
29 September to 5 October 1969

Decommissioned, 7 April 1970 at Bremerton, WA.

Struck from the Naval Register, 30 June 1976

Title transfer to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet

Sold for scrapping, 17 October 1984 by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), towed to Taiwan for scrapping

Instead of being scrapped the Republic of China navy replaced ex-USS White Marsh (LSD-8) with ex-USS Comstock (LSD-19) and renamed ex-Comstock as ROCS Cheng Chung (LSD-191) the same name and hull number the ex-White Marsh carried

Aircraft (still in commission in late 40's or early 50's)
were fitted/retro-fitted with a prefabricated steel grated "Portable Deck" suspended
between the wing walls and supported by removable I-beam girders. The aft end of the
portable deck contained a wooden helicopter platform, enabling the ship to land and
launch 1 helicopter at a time. Stowage of helicopters was limited to capacity of the portable deck installed for the mission. Aircraft servicing was limited to re-fueling. With portable
deck and aircraft platform installed, the Landing ship, dock was still capable of transporting, launching and repairing smaller amphibious craft and vehicles up to the size of a Landing craft, utility (LCU) in their well decks.

Armament

one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount in open tub (w/director)

two quad 40mm AA gun mounts (w/directors)

two twin 40mm AA gun mounts (w/directors)

sixteen single 20mm AA gun mounts (local control)

Fuel Capacities

NSFO 11,720 Bbls

Diesel 160 Bbls

Gasoline 5,085 Gals

Propulsion

two Newport News Shipbuilding steam turbines

two Babcock and Wilcox oil fired D-type boilers, two drum, single furnace, single uptake, 250psi

USS Comstock (LSD-19) under way in the Chinnampo area of Korea, 20 May 1951. USN Navy photo released by Commander, Naval Forces Far East.

David Buell

95k

British Royal Marines boarding USS Comstock (LSD-19) landing craft to carry them to the landing beach at Chinnampo, Korea, circa 1950-53.Photo taken by unknown American official photographer. Photo No. GOV 5836 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums, part of the Central Office of Information Post 1945 Official Public Relations Collection.

Robert Hurst

64k

USS Comstock (LSD-19) at San Diego, 1956

Dale C Haskin

109k

USS Comstock (LSD-19) in bound San Francisco Bay, June 1957, enroute to a shipyard at Alameda for an extended overhaul.Photo by Allied Photographers.

Robert M. Cieri

114k

USS Comstock (LSD-19) under way in San Francisco, circa 1958, after completion of overhaul at shipyard in Alameda. Note her 5" gun mount and 20mm gun mounts have been removed.

John A. Gocke USS Comstock

40k

USS Comstock (LSD-19) under way, circa November 1961, enroute WESTPAC, between Hawaii and Okinawa. Comstock's WESTPAC tour ran from October 1961 to April 1962. Other ships in the formation would have included; USS Lenawee (APA-195), USS Thomaston (LSD-28) an LPH and possibly an AKA.

Photo - USS Gunston Hall web siteCaption - Les Bates USS Gunston Hall

113k

USS Comstock (LSD-19) at anchor off Chu Lai, South Vietnam, June 1965, with her stern gate down. She has not yet flooded her ballast tanks to bring the well deck under water. Alongside is LCU-1481. Note the superdeck fitted over the well deck for the carriage of additional vehicles. In the background is USS Thomaston (LSD-28), with her stern gate still raised.Photo and text from "U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History" by Norman Friedman.

Ex-ROCS Chung Cheng (LSD-191) moored pierside at Tsoying, Taiwan, 18 September 2012, two months after being decommissioned by the Taiwan Navy in July 2012. Chung Cheng was 68 years old. She served in the US Navy for 35 years, being decommissioned in 1970 and laid up in reserve for 14 years thereafter. On 17
Oct. 1984 the ship was sold to Taiwan for scrap. However, after being towed to Taiwan the decision was made to commission the vessel as ROCS Chung Cheng (LSD-191). She operated out of Southern Taiwan for another 28 years. The simple propulsion plants allowed this to happen without access to any drawings or technical manuals. The two machinery spaces were each equipped
with a Babcock and Wilcox 250 psi saturated steam boiler. Each HP/LP impulse - reaction turbine engine delivered a modest 3500 SHP. The final demise was due to hull leakage flooding. Settling at the aft end caused a permanent hull deflection at the stern. This resulted in severe shaft misalignment and the end of a remarkable career for the ship.